Giri Ninjo
by NarcissisticRiceBall
Summary: For Miho Third installment following "Doing It Right" and "Atobe Eye for the Sanada Guy" Sanada feels like he needs to pay back Atobe for the previous two outings.


**A/N:** Here is the third and final installment of my little weird trilogy of Sanada and Atobe goodness. This is dedicated to Miho who inspired me to finish this up. I forgot how much fun I have writing this crack. Anyways, this is the third story following _Doing It Right_ and _Atobe Eye for the Sanada Guy_. So where this fits in the timeline, I have no idea. Sometime after Yukimura gets back and before the Nationals. I write because these two amuse me and there needs to be more love with them. So please, do enjoy the story.

I don't own Prince of Tennis

--

It was awful. There was no other way to describe it. He was in a conundrum, one of which he as unable to get out of. Obligation would have him honor and repay the debt. Feelings would have him forget about it all and go on living in bliss. Which should he honor?

"Genichirou, you really should pay attention."

By the time the vice-captain of Rikkai University Junior High School's tennis club heeded his teammate's advice, the tennis ball already hit him in the head. Fortunately, it was only a practice round, otherwise, he would probably be in the emergency room with a tennis ball permanently lodged into his head since the schools in this particular country were prone to severe injuries and hemorrhaging due to tennis balls.

"Haha! Sanada-fukubuchou got hit in the head. What is it that he always says? _Tarundoru_?"

The youngest member of the team, Kirihara Akaya, was laughing at the situation in which his superior found himself. However, Sanada was in no mood to be made a mockery of, especially by a little underling. He straightened his cap and crossed his arms while glaring down at Kirihara.

"That's quite disrespectful. Run fifty laps, now!"

Kirihara's expression suddenly lost all color as he stared incredulously at his vice-captain. Sanada impatiently tapped his foot indicating his displeasure at his lack of running. With a fearful gulp, Kirihara took off around the school for his laps. Maybe if he was lucky, he would be able to go home before the last train left.

"You know, he is right. You're not usually the spacey types."

Niou Masaharu, trickster of Rikkai, rested his arm on Yagyuu Hiroshi's shoulder. The latter adjusted his perfectly oval glasses as he allowed Niou to use him as an arm rest. Sanada tried to ignore them, but his team had the uncanny ability to meddle in his affairs and get away with it. This was even more true if _that_ person decided to join in.

"Now, now. I'm sure Sanada has a perfectly logical explanation for his lack of attention, even with a simple shot as that."

A soft-spoken, but menacing voice pierced through the ranks. The captain, Yukimura Seiichi, smiled sweetly. So sweetly that everybody shuddered. Though they had known each other for a long time and were definitely friends, Sanada had an involuntary fear of Yukimura. He may appear weak and fragile, but the Rikkai tennis regulars knew otherwise. Sanada remained silent as he thought about what he should say. He looked over at his other friend, Yanagi Renji, who had anotebook out and was writing something in it. There was no getting any help from him.

"It's...complicated."

Yukimura seemed to think about this for a minute before switching from his viper's smile into a more amused one. Renji also appeared to be fascinated all of a sudden. Sanada did not like where this could be going. He tried to back track and assure them it was nothing, just a once in a lifetime error. Renji saw fit to mention that he did not make those kind of errors.

"Does this have to do with a certain someone from another school?"

Yagyuu thoughtfully rubbed his chin while Niou smirked. The other two members of the team happened to walk up right at that moment.

"You mean Atobe from Hyotei?"

The sudden death glare from Sanada aimed for their volley genius let him know he should not have said anything. Marui Bunta nervously popped his gum and subtly stepped behind his doubles partner, Jackal Kuwahara. Now, the death glare was aimed at him.

"W-what?! I didn't say anything!"

Yukimura walked up beside Sanada and patted him on the shoulder.

"There, there, Sanada. You should have just said so in the beginning. If you wanted our help in deciding what you should do for Atobe, you just had to ask."

Same smile was stuck in place though Sanada got the sensation that his friend was not so much as concerned about him but more like amused with him. That particular feeling also grew worse when Renji flipped through his notebook and began perusing some data.

"Is that all? Don't worry dear vice-captain. We'll help you come up with something!"

Niou was too happy and smug. Happy and smug Niou was never a good thing. By now, the others were more than eager to "help" their vice-captain and friend. Sanada could feel a tick develop in his eyebrow as he huffed and pulled his cap down. Screw it. At this moment, he wanted to hide.

"I do not require any or your help. It's not like I asked him to, or he did it of his own free will. You all asked him to do it. Therefore, I have no duty or obligation to him."

Yes, that was perfect. He was set now. There was nothing left for anybody to say. In a moment of hopeful delusion, Sanada imagined that they would just agree and let him go his way. Unfortunately, that was never the case with his teammates. Due to his current attempts at hiding under his baseball cap, he did not notice the shared look between the others.

"I never thought I'd see the day."

"I know, Yagyuu. To think that the upright and honorable Sanada Genichirou would turn his back on his duty."

"You're right Niou. The lifelong struggle between obligation and human feeling continues and clearly we can see where Sanada is going to go with this."

"I agree with you Jackal. But traditionally, didn't all those people following human feeling wind up with some sort of sad fate?"

"So you're familiar with those stories? Yes, you're correct Marui. 99.9 percent of the time, it leads to misfortune."

"And you know how accurate Yanagi's data is, don't you Sanada? Besides, you never were one to back down from your duty, no matter what kind of difficulty it lead to."

Yukimura frowned and feigned perfect sadness. If it continued any longer, Sanada was sure he would begin to wipe away non-existent tears. They needed to be quiet. It was only because he did not want them to continue with such asinine prattle that he said he would do something.

"Ooh, now that's the Sanada we all know and love!"

Sanada tried to ignore his friend and captain but failed miserably as he was now latched onto his arm.

"I don't know what you're all excited about. Nationals are coming up soon and I'm sure Atobe's busy just like we are."

It was perfect. It was true so therefore, he would not be backing out of his duty. However, all his hopes and dreams were cruelly shattered by the cold, ironic world of tennis and data.

"He's free this Sunday."

There was no change in expression as Renji read off his data. It had been worth the extra hard effort of finding that out. His data was never wrong. Sanada could almost detect the smug, self-satisfied aura emanating from him. Soon, that aura was accompanied by soft snickers.

"So it's settled. Let's cut practice early and all decide what Sanada should do to repay Atobe for all his generous kindness."

If only Sanada were a stronger man, he would disregard Yukimura and go about his business, but unfortunately, he was not a stronger man thus he was unable to say anything. So, before he knew it, they were all sitting together in the bleachers discussing the various ways in which Sanada could repay Atobe.

He let his teammates to their own devices. He wanted nothing to do with this. Instead, his mind wandered back to the time he had spent with Atobe. Granted, it was two times. The first one was more by chance rather than purposeful, underhanded dealings by his teammates. Either way, he did have to admit that Atobe really did go out of his way for him, no matter how much enjoyment he must have gotten out of it. They were rivals yet Atobe was more than willing to take time out and aid the fashionably derelict. He was dragged to department stores, secretly photographed in gaudy clothing, and called a horribly degrading pet name. Actually, the more he thought about it, the less he felt that he needed to do anything.

"Sanada isn't the type to go to an amusement park...and I can't really imagine somebody as high and mighty as Atobe going either."

"Maybe he should have Atobe over to his house and they spend the day that way."

"I wouldn't even put somebody like Atobe through that."

"Enough! All of you shut up! I'll do something myself!"

What did they think this was, a date? Sanada scoffed at the idea and curtly said his goodbye before grabbing his tennis bag and marching off with a huff. In his anger, he was once again unaware of the smug glances shared between the members of the Rikkai tennis club.

"Can I stop now?"

"NO!"

They all shook their heads as Kirihara continued to run. Sanada was in no mood to humor anybody. He needed some way to clear his head before properly coming up with something. There were two days for him to come up with something. For now, he just went home and tried to meditate. Even though the silence of the room was peaceful, Sanada's mind was filled with tiresome and troublesome thoughts. With a deep sigh, he stood up and walked back to his room to change into his pajamas. Before heading off to bed, Sanada sat at his desk and tried to finish the last bit of homework. It took every ounce of his renowned discipline to keep his thoughts on homework and nothing else. Finally, the work for tomorrow was completely finished and he felt it prudent to just go to bed.

Thankfully, it did not take long for him to fall asleep, but in the morning, he felt like he had not slept at all. He grumbled to himself as he got out of bed and took a shower. Straightening out his school uniform, Sanada grabbed his bag and headed for the breakfast table where breakfast was waiting for him. He sat down and mechanically ate his food. After thanking his mother for the meal, he headed off for school.

When he arrived, he was sure his teammates were going to bother him some more when they saw him in the hallway or in class, but by the end of the day, they were uncharacteristically silent. As they were cleaning up the tennis courts, nobody even mentioned Atobe or the event yesterday. It was too suspicious, but his head hurt far too much for him to question it further. He said his goodbyes and headed back off to home. As he lay in his bed later that night, he realized he only had a day left to come up with something. Nothing really came to mind but he knew if he did not do something, the consequences would be horrible. So, he went to bed in anguish and woke up unhappy. There was no class and the tennis club was not meeting today. That meant he had the whole day to lament his upcoming fate. He spent the day practicing his kata though his mind was not in it at all.

Realizing it was futile to continue any longer, Sanada put away his gear and headed up to his room. As he was preparing to take his shower, Sanada looked in his closet and a bright colored shirt caught his eye. He reached in and pulled it out to examine it. Immediately, he recognized it as having Atobe's distinct flair. Never in his right mind would he have bought such a thing. It was the same shirt he had worn to the karaoke party for Yukimura. That was also the first time he had spent time with Atobe. He had deemed Sanada worthy of his attention and blessed him with a new wardrobe.

He was going to put it back in the closet when it suddenly dawned on him. It was perfect. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly felt lighter and kept it out. He draped it over the back of his desk chair and went back to the closet to find something to wear on the bottom. They had to be somewhere and sure enough, at the very back of the storage space, he found the black slacks that were a size he would never wear. Whatever the case, he laid it out on top of his shirt and took his shower.

Staying under the hot spray a bit longer than he usually did, Sanada stepped out feeling more relaxed. He dried off and got into his pajamas. Checking the clock, he found it was still fairly early in the evening, but he still decided to go to bed. With the lack of sleep the last couple of nights, Sanada felt that it would be best to get a good night's sleep so that he was ready for the morning. It would take all his skill and effort and self-control to do it, but by his honor, he would spend the day with Atobe Keigo.

The next morning, Sanada woke up bright and early. He went to the bathroom and examined his hair. It was perfect for stuffing under a cap, but knowing the consequences of doing that, Sanada just took another shower. Upon getting out, he took out a comb and combed his hair down. Due to its wetness, it stuck to his forehead causing Sanada to grow frustrated with it. Determined to not give Atobe any reason to comment on anything, everything had to be perfect. Taking his towel, he roughly rubbed his head with it to try and dry it off some more. Satisfied with the moisture level of his hair, Sanada combed it so everything was laying down and in neat order. As he leaned into the mirror, he noticed that some of his hair was uneven and had, what Atobe referred to as, split ends. At that moment, Sanada wanted to crawl in a corner and commit seppuku for actually noticing it.

Brushing aside the feeling of horror he felt at that moment, Sanada proceeded to slip into his slacks and finally put on the shirt. While he was buttoning it, memories of Atobe giving button instructions plagued his mind so he spend a few minutes debating what buttons needed to be let undone. He tried a couple on top and one at the bottom but felt awkward that it showed some of his stomach when he moved a certain away. Call him a prude, but forget Atobe, he was not about showing things off; not that the random, somehow obtained photos of him during tennis practice showed otherwise. He would have to ask Renji about that one sometime. However, now was not the time. As he left his room, he made sure he had his wallet in his back pocket. His mother and father greeted him when he came down but paused what they were doing when they saw what he was wearing.

Though they remained silent, he could just hear their thoughts. It had to look so odd for them right now. They began to eat in silence, but part way through, his mother could not resist.

"What's the occasion?"

"I'm just going out."

"Is it with that nice but flamboyant character that came over not too long ago? What was his name, Atobe or something like that, right?"

Great, now his father decided it would be fun to get in on the conversation. It was also disconcerting that they realized his outfit and him going out indicated Atobe. He simply answered their questions as he finished up and thanked his mother. He ran back up to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. As he came down, he could hear his parents quietly talk about how great it was that he was getting out now of days and with other boys around the city.

"I'm leaving now."

"Make sure to have lots of fun! And don't worry about time, we'll just assume you'll be out late."

His mother just had to say that. And she said it in such a way as to cause Sanada to shudder. What did they think he was going to be doing? There was school tomorrow to consider. Whatever. He just tried to push that thought away and left as quickly as he could. Checking his watch again, Sanada found that if he walked quickly, he would make it to the train in time to arrive near Atobe's house in only a short while. He made his way to the station ignoring the stares, mainly from the female kind, and whispering. While by no means did he ever think himself ugly, he never did consider himself one of those attractive types. Sanada just tried to push by and get on the train. He remained standing the whole way and when he got off, he suddenly remembered that he did not know the exact address for Atobe's home. Wandering around a bit, he wondered how he would find Atobe's house, but suddenly, he realized it was not that difficult.

Off in the distance, on a large plot of grassy land, something that looked more like a small village was nestled there. Shaking his head, Sanada took one step forward towards the unknown. The mansion continued to grow larger as he got closer until he arrived at the front gates. When he approached, a security guard stopped him and asked him about his business. Clamping down on the stream of comments he could make about Atobe, Sanada politely informed him that he was a friend who was going to surprise him. He wondered if the guard would believe him, but apparently, he did. He let Sanada pass through and told him to just go to the front door.

If it was a long trek to get to the house from the station, it was just as long to get to the front door. Before he could knock, Sanada took a moment to truly be engulfed by the grandeur of the elaborate design and unfathomably tall doors. Taking a deep breath, Sanada pushed the marble doorbell button. Most people had a little buzzer, or a little ring for theirs. Could Atobe possibly have that? No, he could not. An entire symphony of bells chimed causing Sanada to practically jump from the sound.

Sanada thought that a doorman would have immediately opened the door but instead, the bells died out and he was met with silence. For a minute, he was worried that Atobe was not here or was just ignoring him. Unlike Atobe, Sanada had this thing about breaking and entering people's houses. However, before he was going to attempt to hit the doorbell again, he heard muffled voices behind.

"Well where is he? Fine, fine."

The way the voice spoke was definitely reminiscent of Atobe. With some resistance, the door slowly opened and Sanada was greeted by an imposing figure in a stance he knew all too well.

"What's this? Ore-sama wasn't aware there were going to be any guests today. Hm, aren't you all dressed up today, aan?"

--

**A/N: **So how did you enjoy it? I hope you did. Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors. I'm too tired to catch them all and my document writer tends to hate me. Anyways, Sanada finally arrives at the Atobe manor...which is huge...obsecenely so. Whatever the case, _fukubuchou_ is vice-captain, _tarundoru_ is Sanada's key phrase that more or less means not to be careless or slack off. As for the title of the story, _Giri_ is the concept of duty or societal obligation while _ninjo_ means human emotions or feelings. Clasically, the two are opposed to each other. Seemed to fit Sanada. Anyways, I left it in Japanese because I think it has a better flow to it. So yeah, hopefully that clears up some things. Drop me a line if I left anything else out. So, hope you enjoyed reading it and let me know. Thanks for reading!


End file.
